As a river dies: India could be facing its ‘greatest human catastrophe’ ever

As crops and farmers die, experts blame a man-made “drought of common sense” for the drying up of Southern India’s Cauvery River, once a lifeline to millions. Insight investigates.

Much of the once bountiful and lush-green rice fields was reduced to a dry, yellow-brown landscape, after successive years of scanty rainfall and severe drought.

For farmer Mr Vijayakumar, 52, the rice crop was his family’s sole source of income. Hit by the double whammy of crop failure and mounting debts, he took a lonely walk to the edge of his two-acre rice field in Tamil Nadu in January this year.

There the tough, rugged man, used to the hard toil of a farmer for decades, hanged himself from a nearby tree.

“He was constantly worrying about the debts,” said his wife Vijayakumari, who is now struggling to cope with the loss of her husband and their escalating debts. “His mind was never at peace. He kept saying that there were so many debts to repay and he was worried about how his only son was going to manage all that.”

Mr Vijayakumar had borrowed from moneylenders to pay for his daughter’s wedding and for fertilisers for his crops which didn’t grow, she told the Channel NewsAsia programme Insight.

He is just one of roughly 350 farmers who have died in Tamil Nadu in recent months, according to unofficial estimates. In the past 20 years, more than 300,000 indebted farmers in India have committed suicide – many due to family debts, reported The Hindu newspaper.

PEOPLE ARE LOSING HOPE

Years of scanty and inadequate rainfall have led to the drying up of water reservoirs and village water bodies in southern India, especially the grain-growing regions of Tamil Nadu which is facing its worse drought in 140 years.

Water activist Dr Rajendra Singh said: “We have not seen a drought of this intensity before. People have lost hope in life and are committing suicide.”

“People are leaving the villages and moving to the cities… They don’t have food to eat and water to drink. There is no fodder for the livestock,” added the winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Stockholm Water Prize.

The once-mighty 800km Cauvery River, a major lifeline in southern India on which millions of farmers depend, has turned into dust tracts in several sections before it trickles down to the Bay of Bengal.

Dense forests once helped to retain water on the hill slopes, enabling slow percolation into the streams that feed the river. But widespread deforestation along the Cauvery Basin has led to soil erosion and a reduction in rainfall.

Scientist and environmentalist Dr Vandana Shiva pointed out that the region gets only four months of rain during the monsoons, during which in ideal circumstances, the water would be naturally stored in the humus and earth of the forests.

“But if you don’t store it, the rain comes, causes a flood, and you have a drought,” she said.

“The second reason is that there is an over extraction (of water) beyond the capacity of the river. That extraction is leaving the river dry.”

SMALL RIVERS DRYING UP

Dr Shiva also blames the government’s ambitious scheme that aims to link Indian rivers by a network of reservoirs and canals, with dams diverting the flow from areas with a water surplus.

She said: “There’s this assumption that you can have bigger and bigger cities and you can divert water from hundreds and thousands of miles away.

To take all the rivers in India and divert them to the cities and industrial areas – all rivers will die.

Critics argue that damming the rivers will cause coastal erosion, deforestation and the displacement of people, and exacerbate the impact of climate change.

Dr Singh pointed out that the introduction of centralised irrigation systems and large dams have led to serious soil erosion. while the over-extraction of underground aquifers depleted the water table.

“There was no more water to be drawn from under the ground, and the water at the top flowed away with the soil, causing erosion and silting,” he said. “All the small rivers are dying.”

Bauxite mining has also wreaked havoc and contributed to a collapse of groundwater levels.

Environmental activist Mr Piyush Manush said that the rampant extraction of bauxite – from which aluminium is produced – from the Servarayan Hills has led to an environmental disaster.

Bauxite absorbs rainwater and slowly releases water into the streams. But the extraction of bauxite has left the hills bare and arid. “If the hill is undisturbed, the bauxite and other minerals inside act as a sponge to absorb water and release it slowly.

“Now, if you chop the hill for bauxite, the hill gets hardened with exposure to sunlight. And once it hardens, it loses that sponge effect,” he said.

DEBT DESPERATION AND SUICIDE

Faced with the water crisis and their crop failures, desperate farmers have turned to money lenders for loans to buy food, seeds, fertiliser and equipment.

These money lenders charge exorbitant interest rates and as debts pile up, farmers often find themselves unable to cope with the pressure. Some think that by killing themselves, they can save their families – but moneylenders don’t stop hounding the survivors.

“We still have debts that we haven’t been able to repay. None of our debts have been cancelled,” said Madam Vijayakumari.

The widow of rice farmer Ashokan, who was queuing for another bank loan for his failed crops when he collapsed and died – she believes from the stress.

Not far from her village, another rice farmer Mr Ashokan, 55, was also troubled by the same thoughts of crippling debt and destruction of crops.

He went to the bank to get another loan to buy pesticides and fertilisers, but collapsed and died while standing in line. His widow, Madam Vedhavalli, believes he died due to the stress of his crop failures.

In April, distressed and angry drought-hit farmers from Tamil Nadu took to the streets of Indian capital New Delihi to protest, demanding farm loan waivers. A few state governments have conceded, agreeing to waive their loans amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars.

Farmers protesting, demanding waivers of their loans.

But farmers like Mr Gnanaprakasam, 59, in Samudayam village still feel threatened, with upstream states like Karnataka refusing to share Cauvery River’s water with neighbouring Tamil Nadu.

Water wars broke out after Karnataka refused to comply with India’s Supreme Court ruling that it release more water, leading to violence on the streets, reported the Hindustan Times. If Karnataka doesn’t accede, Mr Gnanaprakasam said:

The districts of Thanjavur, Tiruvarur and Nagapattinam will transform into deserts. All the crops will be destroyed.

“Farmers and labourers will leave the village without a choice. That’s already happening now. Many farmers have lost their lives. They have died out of shock. Some have committed suicide.”

Some activist believe the plan to divert more water to the cities and industrial areas is partly to blame for the drought.

FOR NOW, A COMMUNITY SOLUTION?

Dr Singh, also known as India’s Water Man, has been fighting an uphill battle to revive water bodies and rivers in the semi-arid region of Rajasthan for more than 30 years. He has set up more than 8,000 water tanks and revived seven rivers in Rajasthan.

In Alwar district, about 200km from Delhi, he has used path-breaking water conservation techniques to bring water back to more than 1,000 villages. He believes local water preservation and community-driven water management systems are the only ways to end the “terrible disaster”.

Dr Rajendra Singh, winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Stockholm Water Prize.

He said:

The solution to this is community-driven decentralised water management. This is a solution that the government is not looking to implement. They are only looking at large dams and centralised irrigation systems – which are the main reasons for this drought.

Dr Sunita Narain, director general of the India-based research institute the Centre for Science and Environment, believes that Tamil Nadu needs to augment its water supply through a decentralised water harvesting system. This means building water tanks, and going back to the traditions of harvesting water, restoring and recharging every lake and pond in Tamil Nadu.

She also thinks that the state needs to move away from water intensive crops such as sugar cane.

“Third, make every industry and city in Tamil Nadu water-wise, so you use less water and you recharge and recharge every drop of water the Singapore way. It has to be a combination of all three,” she said.

For the farmers’ widows like Vijayakumari and Vedhavalli, it may be a case of too little, too late.

“Saving the Cauvery River is akin to saving the lives of the farmers,” said Ms Vedhavalli. “We are afraid to go ahead with anything now. We can’t depend on the rain for anything.

“Rain only comes occasionally. At times, when there’s too much rain, we suffer from floods. Now we are facing drought.”

44 Comments on "As a river dies: India could be facing its ‘greatest human catastrophe’ ever"

Go Speed Racer on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 5:47 pm

That wasn’t very peaky or oily.

They could water the fields with Gatorade.

It has electrolytes.

Go Speed Racer on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 5:50 pm

Lets not forget that it was important to mine all that
bauxite.
The aluminum was used for pop cans, filled with high fructose corn syrup for the fat Americans. They throw the cans out the window of their monster truck.

This is more important than growing crops.

Bloomer on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 6:25 pm

We certainly are a messed up species speed racer. I province I live in burns and the folks across the globe have no water. All this due to deforestation and the melting of mountain glaciers. But apparently its all fake news.

Makati1 on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 7:07 pm

I have no sympathy for India. They have destroyed themselves. If a billion of them die off, the rest may have a chance. They let cows walk the streets instead of eating them. They are a nation of small tribes, run by corruption and greed and a lunatic at their head, Modi. I only hope they do not go to war with Pakistan as that would affect all of us when their nukes fly. We shall see.

bobinget on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 7:43 pm

Indians are one of us, Makati.

To say ‘they have destroyed themselves’ can be
freely applied elsewhere.
Victim blaming went out after 9/11.

Makati1 on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 8:11 pm

bobinget, they are not “one of us”. They are way ahead in the path to destruction. Yes, we are all on that path, but some are leading (Most Western countries and their wannabees) but many are way back in the line and will feel the pain much less and later in the process. Do you think that a person who uses little or no outside resources will be the first to fall? I know people here in the Philippines who will likely not even notice a world financial/globalization collapse. Those at the top are in for the most pain. Think about it.

Davy on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 8:15 pm

Philippines is in the same boat as India, makati. Way too many people in both countries. Starvation will visit you soon, makati. Remember me when it does. I warned you but you cavalierly ignored my advice. Dumbshit.

AM on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 8:18 pm

sis dear could you appeal to upper tard echelon to stop interfering with my posts?

Hoping to meet you someday at a truck stop and certainly never at the pearly gate.

this could never penetrate the thick skulls of adherents of “permaculture” practitioners.

I said that nature is infinitely complex so the goal is turning it into something less complex; by making ag. just another manufacturing endeavor.

boat on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 8:51 pm

mak,

Wisconsin gdp about the same as the Philippines. Wisconsin has 5 mill people, Philippines 100 mil. Wisconsin is known as the dairy state. Philippines known for over population.

Makati1 on Sat, 29th Jul 2017 9:17 pm

Boat, and you are saying? That Wisconsin is better? How? Fewer people mean shit. It is the ability to live off the land and be independent of banks, fees, taxes, etc. Few here have bank accounts and even fewer have credit cards and mortgages. Many pay no tax other than VAT. There is a national healthcare system that provides basic medical services to all. You have to actually prove that you have a very good job to get a bank account, loan or credit card here.

Is Wisconsin independent of the rest of the world or even the other 49 states? Nope! The Ps could be easily.

Is Wisconsin blessed with year round temps in the 60F to 90F range? Nope! The Ps is. (-14F is not very comfortable if you have no home in Wisconsin. I won’t freeze to death.)

Are haircuts in Wisconsin $2? They are here. And much better than the last $14 one I got in the US 10 years ago.

Are specialist doctors available for $15 TOTAL per visit? They are here. And chest x-rays are $5 each. Most meds are generic and cost pennies each.

Can you get an eye exam AND a pair of prescription glasses for $20. You can here.

“Illinois Had The Worst Personal Income Growth In The U.S. Over The Past Decade’
“Homicides In Baltimore Top 200, Expected To Break Record”
“California Moves One Step Closer To Declaring Independence From US Government”
“Facebook Employee Lives Out Of Car, Can’t Afford Housing”
“Southern California Median Home Price Doubles In Five Years”
“The Empire Strikes Back: Japan Jacks Up US Beef Import Tariffs To 50%”
“The U.S. Empire Continues To Stumble Towards Ruin”
“Total Government And Personal Debt In The U.S. Has Hit 41 Trillion Dollars ($329,961.34 Per Household)”
“The Dollar’s Slow Demise Continues in Plain Sight”
“Corn Could Be Major Victim of Climate Change”
“Contaminants in water are legal but still pose big health risks, environmental group says”
“Winning: U.S. Crushes All Other Countries In Latest Obesity Study”
“The U.S. Empire Continues to Stumble Towards Ruin”
And on and on…

Got to me Davy? Lmao. You cannot get to me. I just enjoy pointing out your bullshit and returning some of your potty mouth attitude. Your goats wouldn’t want your attentions. They have better taste. I was just bored this Sunday AM.

Davy on Sun, 30th Jul 2017 7:00 am

What is it dumbass. Am I on you ignore list or most talk about list? I think that explains it all. You don’t know what to do, do you…lol.
I pop your bubble daily and you can’t stand it.

Yes racer it’s childish I agree. The resident moaners need a good kick up the arse and told to go do something useful.

‘Waa Waa Waa America America’

‘Waa Waa Waa Phillipines Phillipines’

From here they both look shit, now both of you apologise and stop fucking moaning. Why don’t you go buy a electric vehicle, stop your town dropping so much plastic shit in the ocean or go be nice to a stranger.

Davy on Sun, 30th Jul 2017 9:46 am

Wa da matter nationalist. You whine regularly about the US when you should be reviewing Australian dumbass. WTF. Typical. Spare me the drama

Kenz300 on Sun, 30th Jul 2017 9:52 am

And the population of India continues to grow adding more mouths to feed every year.

Over population is the worlds worst environmental problem.

bobinget on Sun, 30th Jul 2017 10:09 am

Makati, I realize you dare not post a word of criticism about Philippine’s current political situation. (if you are indeed critical)

Were you or I to reside in Wisconsin, our opinions,
let’s say, would be freer to criticize ‘Our Dear Leader’.

3 Hours ago:

A Philippine mayor accused by President Rodrigo Duterte of having links with the illegal drugs trade has been shot dead in a police raid.
Reynaldo Parojinog, mayor of the city of Ozamiz on Mindanao island, was killed with his wife and 10 others at his home as police served a warrant.
Officers were fired on by the mayor’s security guards, officials said.

More than 7,000 people are said to have been killed since Mr Duterte launched a war on the drugs trade in July 2016.
Police were serving an arrest warrant when they were “met with a volley of fire” by Mr Parojinog’s security guards, officials said.

“The Parojinogs, if you would recall, are included in President Duterte’s list of people involved in the illegal drug trade,” Mr Duterte’s spokesman, Ernesto Abella, said in a statement.
A spokesman for the Parojinogs denied that there had been any exchange of fire and said the mayor’s camp did not fire a shot.

Mr Parojinog’s brother was also killed in the dawn raid in Ozamiz. His daughter, the city’s vice-mayor, was arrested and faces charges relating to drugs offences, police said.
Officers recovered rifles, cash and illegal drugs at the address, according to provincial police chief Jaysen De Guzman.

Inside a Philippines prison drugs raid
Duterte: I threw suspect from helicopter
President: ‘Strongman’ of Philippines
The woman who dares to defy Duterte
Mr Parojinog is the third Philippine mayor to be killed in the government’s bloody narcotics crackdown, in which Mr Duterte has singled out local officials, policemen and judges.
The move has made him popular with many Filipinos but has been condemned by human rights groups and other critics.

Mr Duterte took office just over a year ago following an election campaign in which he promised to kill tens of thousands in order to put an end to the illegal drugs trade.
Earlier this month, legislators in the Philippines voted overwhelmingly to extend martial law in Mindanao to help deal with violence on the island linked to an Islamist insurgency.

Mr Duterte said the extension was necessary to crush the insurgency, but his critics have said that it is part of a wider power grab.

bobinget on Sun, 30th Jul 2017 10:22 am

IMO, every American should visit and LIVE in a developing country for at least 18 months.

“MO, every American should visit and LIVE in a developing country for at least 18 months.”

That a great idea from someone who is into fake green living. You know let’s get all green’d out then fly off to somewhere we don’t belong and be a developing country tourist and supposedly learn about being poor. What a bunch of BS. What we need to be doing is stay home and learn to live with less.

Bob you brag about how wealthy you are at times and then you talk about being green with zero emissions because you know you got an EV. I think instead of 18 months in a developing country lets have fake greens be real greens for 18 months. Then the real learning will begin

onlooker on Sun, 30th Jul 2017 12:42 pm

Bob, you are not telling us anything new in regards to the stinkholes some poor countries are. But I will take it further and say much of the reason is because of the Western Capitalist model taking root throughout the entire planet and making exploitation a common practice in the relation between poor and rich countries. So, if your implication is we should not criticize the US or other countries because that is hypocritical, well that is bull. I can and will continue to point out how the rich exploit the poor and what an unequal unjust world we live in. If that makes me a hypocrite what does that make those who cannot seem to criticize these policies and rather blame poor countries and their people for overpopulating the planet without looking at the reasons that this overpopulation has occurred. The rich consumers should look in the mirror before they criticize poor world denizens.

Pertaining to the article, it is so sad and tragic to see the carnage being inveighed upon poor farmers who just want to provide for their families. But no matter how many suicides occur India is still projected to surpass China as the most populous country. Their water problem is an unsolvable predicament that will only get worse. And their culture and religions will blame it on everything but themselves. That’s all they can do.

And Amalamadingdong, how do I know it’s you and not the upper tards themselves asking me to ask them. Call Infowars for solutions.

Apneaman on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 3:00 am

Sydney Faces Hottest July Day On Record

“How is your winter going, Sydney?

On Sunday, Sydney temperatures set a new July record, climbing to 26.5 degrees just after 2 o’clock, surpassing the former highest recorded July temperature of 25.9 degrees and officially reaching the same temperature as the January average.

Wait, what? That’s right — Sunday temperatures in Sydney surpassed 26 degrees, the mean temperature for the city in the middle of summer.”

Bobinget, the replies to your statement: “… every American should visit and LIVE in a developing country for at least 18 months” tells you that Americans don’t want to go and learn how to live in a 3rd world situation. Problem is, they will need that experience and education in the near future. Visiting a country as a tourist is NOT living there anymore than you can live in Disneyland. You have to get off the beaten path and live with the average Juan to know the country.

Few in America want to give up their cushy, pampered life, even for 18 days let alone 18 months. Too bad. Soon they will be forced ot live in ways they never imagined. Like living on the 4% of the world’s resources that is their share, not the 25+% they are used to. And they will deserve it. LOL

Davy on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 5:31 am

“Few in America want to give up their cushy, pampered life, even for 18 days let alone 18 months.”
Shut up makati you hypocrite. You are living the western life in Makati, Manila with your boyfriend and now preaching to the choir. You are are most of the time there maybe one week a year at the fantasy farm. Hypocrites on this board make me sick.

Makati1 on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 6:20 am

Ah, Potty mouth Davy is on line again. Look in the mirror for the real hypocrite, Davy. Americans are the best hypocrites in the world and you are way up there on the list.

My farm is just as real as yours. That I do not have to live there 24/7/365 is not the issue. The caretaker does all that is necessary until I move there full time when the road and house is finished.

You are the one trapped in a situation you cannot get out of and it bothers you that some of us (millions actually) have left the American gulag and are living quite well in other countries. Perhaps I do live a 2nd world lifestyle for now. So what? I am free. You are not. LMAO

Davy on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 6:40 am

“Ah, Potty mouth Davy is on line again. Look in the mirror for the real hypocrite”
Where is the potty mouth hypocrite? Just reality and humility which you are afraid of facing. You have been giving excuses about your fantasy farm for years now. I think you are too old and frail to make a go at the 3rd world life you falsely preach here daily. No wonder you stay in the heart of Manila with your boyfriend in your choochie lifestyle. What are you going to do if the boyfriend kicks you out on to the streets?

Makati1 on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 7:31 am

There you go again Davy, dreaming up a life for me. And, it is based on nothing but your twisted imagination. I may be married to a cute Filipina for all you know and can prove. It is purely none of your business, just as my actual situation here is none of your business. If I chose to live alone and have fiends here it is my business. I am free to do what I want.

FYI: I have an adopted family here that is as close as my real US family. It contains a Navy captain, a robotics engineer, a registered architect and a very intelligent and successful business woman, They all have government contacts as their family has been close to the last few presidents. “My” farm is actually theirs, but I have a part in its growth and investment. A secure part.

So, keep trying Davy. You are beating your head against a steel wall. But you are entertaining and a nice diversion from the clown show called America.

Makati1 on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 7:40 am

BTW Davy, I am in such good health that I very well may outlive you by many years. I need/take no meds. I’m well within a healthy BMI of 24.4I never smoked, use alcohol occasionally, and eat healthy. No recreational drugs except coffee. MY BP is within the normal range for my age. I walk at least 25 miles per week. Don’t need glasses. My father lived to 88 and had few heath problems. No glasses, etc. My mom made it to 89 with manageable problems. Good health and long life runs in my family. Pure truth. So keep trying to put me down. I just laugh. ^_^

Davy on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 9:10 am

“BTW Davy, I am in such good health that I very well may outlive you by many years”

Of course makati your boasting is expected because you are always better at everything. That is how narcissist operate.

Makati1 on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 9:32 am

You are the poster child for narcissism, Davy. I was merely replying to your smear about my supposed ‘decrepitude’. You should be so healthy. You have nothing to rebut my comments except to try to make me seem old and senile. I am obviously in better mental health than you are.

I can post dozens of refs daily, to prove the U$ gulag’s decline. You have none to prove your points. Give it up. you cannot win.

“Study: More kids overdosing on their parents’ weight loss, sex drive supplements”
“Chicago PMI Crashes Most In 29 Months As Stagflation Strikes”
“It’s Time To Retaliate”: Putin Expels 755 U.S. Diplomats”
Kunstler: “Decades From Now, They’ll Say He Had ‘The Tweets'”
“In Show Of “Lethal, Overwhelming Force” US Flies Two B-1B Bombers Over Korean Peninsula”
“UN Ambassador Haley Warns – America’s “Done Talking About North Korea…”
“Worsening drought conditions in parts of US stressing crops”
“Swiss cheese pipes: Missing lead confirms origins of Flint’s water crisis”
“The Dawn of an Orwellian Future”
‘Homicides In Baltimore Top 200, Expected To Break Record”
“The U.S. Hypocrisy of ‘Human Rights'”
“California Moves One Step Closer to Declaring Independence from US Government”
“The U.S. Is Inches From A War With North Korea In Which Millions Could Die”
And on and on….

Davy on Mon, 31st Jul 2017 10:28 am

A narcassist never admits he is a narcissist makati. This contributes to your poor mental health because you never admit you have a problem.

TheNationalist on Tue, 1st Aug 2017 9:44 am

When the Chinese army take Manilla I wonder if the Phillipinos will have dreams of a new Mcarthur?
Or will they see them as liberators like the Malayans saw the empire of the sun in 1941?
Initially they thought they would be more free too…